Freight car side wall construction

ABSTRACT

A side wall assembly particularly for freight cars includes an upper longitudinal beam spaced above a lower longitudinal beam which is carried on the undercarriage and with a corner post connected between the beams at each end. A pivot bolt boss is provided on each beam intermediate their length and a middle post is secured in position by horizontally extending bolts which engage in the bores and which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car. A rubber or plastic seal is provided between the middle post and the upper and lower longitudinal beams or girders. A cover sheet is arranged over the middle and a portion of the upper longitudinal member and it extends over the entire width of the post and is secured thereto such as by securing screws.

Unite States Patent 1191 Hiibsch et al. I

[ 1 FREIGHT CAR SIDE WALL CONSTRUCTION Inventors: Henry Hiibsch,

Huettenwal-Weidenau; Felix Schneider, Netphen-Eckmannshausen, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Waggon Union GmbH, Siegen,

Germany Filed: Mar. 18, 1974 Appl. No.: 452,406

3,151,573 10/1964 Eggert 105/409 X Dec. 3, 1974 3,347,175 10/1967 Butcher 105/409 Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Attorney, Agent, or FirmMcGlew & Tuttle [5 7] ABSTRACT A side wall assembly particularly for freight cars includes an upper longitudinal beam spaced above a lower longitudinal beam which is carried on the undercarriage and with a corner post connected between the beams at each end. A pivot bolt boss is provided on each beam intermediate their length and a middle post is secured in position by horizontally extending bolts which engage in the bores and which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car; A rubber or plastic seal is provided between the middle post and the upper and lower longitudinal beams or girders. A cover sheet is arranged over the middle and a portion of the upper longitudinal memher and it extends over the entire width of the post and is secured thereto such as by securing screws.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEL 555 31974 SHEET 2 BF 2 II J! IL 1 FREIGHT CAR SIDE WALL CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to the construction 5 of freight cars and in particular to a new and useful freight car side wall assembly which comprises upper and lower longitudinal members interconnected by corner posts and by a middle post member which is articulated thereto by at horizontal pivot members secured to the respective longitudinal members.

2. Description of the Prior Art Side walls which include a side wall frame and sliding wall parts which are mounted thereon are well known in freight car construction. In most cases the side wall frame includes only an upper longitudinal member, the outer longitudinal girder of the undercarriage forming a lower longitudnal member and corner of front wall posts and middle posts/The corner posts may be offset in the direction of the central portion of the front wall and perhaps united with the front'wall posts. Such an arrangement meets the railroad regulations demanding that a space be kept clear in front of the car for the coupler. In such a case the front wall posts assume the function of corner posts and they are either forked approximately at the level of the upper longitudinal member or offset towardandsecured to the latter so that a side wall frame is formed which comprises vertical posts and horizontal frame members or beams. In the construction of the side wall frames known up tothe present time the posts are rigidly secured to the upper longitudinal member andthe outer longitudinal girder Y of the'undercarriage at all points in order to obtain a stiff and distortionfree car body. Howevenin accordance'withnew findings of freight car design, a body metal upper longitudinal member without any problem.

A rubber or plastic seal is provided at the inner side of the middle post between the post and the upper longitudinal member with the lower longitudinal girder or outer longitudinal girder located on the carriage. A further sealing closure for the joint is a cover sheet provided between the middle post and the upper longitudinal member which is screwed from the outside to the longitudinal member and to the middle post and extends over the'entire width of the middle post.

The joints between the middlepost and the upper longitudinalmember and the lower longitudinal girder comprise brackets and bush bearings with bolts, the upper bracket being preferably screwed, tothe longitudinal member. j

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a side wall assembly particularly for a freight car having an undercarriage and a top roof and which comprises upperand lower vertically spaced substantially parallel longitudinal beams or girders which are interconnected .by corner posts at eachnend andwhich are interconnected by a middle post which is secured over a horizontally extending pivot axis carried by'the upper and lower girders respectively.

A further object of the invention is to provide a side wall assembly for a freight car which is simple in design,

rugged in construction and economical to manufacture. v v For an understanding of the'principles of the invention, reference is made to the following description of moves in the longitudinal direction of the car relative to the undercarriage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I In accordance with the invention a side wall assembly is provided particularly for covered freight cars in which the structure is capabiebryieiaifig ta martian and thus it avoids the susceptibility to crack formations at the joints between the middle posts and the upper longitudinal member or the outer longitudinal girder. 1 In accordance with the tendency to lightweight constructions the construction offers the possibility of connecting middle posts to an upper longitudinal member or outer longitudinal girder of the undercarriagean which may be made of light metal. In accordance with the invention the side wall assembly includes a middle post of the frame which is pivoted to the upper and lower longitudinal members on pivot bolts which extend substantially horizontally and at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the car. With the a typicalembodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE'DRAWINGS In the drawings: I i 1 FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through amiddle post portion of a freight'car side wall construction constructed in accordancewith the invention and taken along the line-l-l of FIG. 2; and l FIG. 2" is a side eleyational view of the freight car showninFIG'l.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises a side wall assembly generally'designated50'of a freight car generally designated 52 which includes an undercarriage 5.4 having wheels 56 and 58 at respective ends thereof. The freight train is advantageously provided with a roof or cover 60.

In accordance with the invention the side wall assembly 50 includes upper and lower longitudinalmembers or girders 2 and 3 which are arranged in spaced apart horizontal relationship and which are connected at their respective ends by corner posts I, 1'. The lower longitudinal member comprises an outer longitudinal girder 3 of the undercarriage 54 and it is provided with a bracket 5 as shown in FIG. I with a front wall portion 5a carrying a cylindrical bush or bearing 6 for a pivot bolt 10. The bracket 5 is welded to the outer longitudinal girder 3 of the undercarriage and another bracket 7 is secured to the upper longitudinal girder 2. The upper bracket 7 also carries a bearing sleeve or hearing bushing 8 having a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car and parallel to the axis of the pivot 10 and the bushing 6. I

In accordance with a feature of the invention the middle post 4 is formed with horizontal bores at its respective upper and lower ends which are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car and which may be located around the bushings 6 and 8 so that the middle post 4 may be hinged to the brackets and 7 by means of bolts 9 and 10 passed through the respective bearings 8 and 6.

A seal 11 is provided at the inner side of the middle post 4 between the post and the bottom side of the upper longitudinal member 2 to bridge the joint between these two parts. The seal comprises a rubber or plastic band and is screwed to the post 4 and to the member 2. A cover sheet 12 extends over the entire widht of the post 4 and is screwed to the post and also to the upper longitudinal member 2. Preferably the cover sheet 12 is very thin in order that it not hinder the pivotal motion of the middle post 4 relative to the upper longitudinal member 2. A seal 14 is also provided between the middle post 4 and the lower longitudinal girder 3 of the undercarriage 54.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A side wall assembly particularly for freight cars having an undercarriage and a top roof, comprising upper and lower vertically spaced substantially parallel longitudinal members, at least one corner post connected between said upper and lower longitudinal members adjacent at least one end thereof, pivot means defining pivots on each of said upper and lower longitu- 2. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a seal provided between said middle post and said upperlongitiudinal member and said middle post and said lower longitudinal member.

3. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a cover sheet extending over said middle post and secured to said middle post and to said upper longitudinal member and extending over the entire width of said middle post.

4. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a bracket on said upper and lower longitudinal members each bracket having a bush bearing, and a bolt extending through said middle post and into said bush bearing for pivotally connecting said middle post to said upper and lower longitudinal members. 

1. A side wall assembly particularly for freight cars having an undercarriage and a top roof, comprising upper and lower vertically spaced substantially parallel longitudinal members, at least one corner post connected between said upper and lower longitudinal members adjacent at least one end thereof, pivot means defining pivots on each of said upper and lower longitudinal members having axes substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car and located intermediate the length of the respective upper and lower longitudinal members, and a middle post connected between said upper and lower longitudinal members on said pivot means for pivotal motion about the horizontal axes of said pivots perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the car.
 2. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a seal provided between said middle post and said upper longitiudinal member and said middle post and said lower longitudinal member.
 3. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a cover sheet extending over said middle post and secured to said middle post and to said upper longitudinal member and extending over the entire width of said middle post.
 4. A side wall assembly according to claim 1, including a bracket on said upper and lower longitudinal members each bracket having a bush bearing, and a bolt extending through said middle post and into said bush bearing for pivotally connecting said middle post to said upper and lower longitudinal members. 